Brothers Charles Sumner Greene and Henry Mather
Greene, who established the architectural firm of Greene and
Greene, were born in Brighton, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati,
in 1868 and 1870. The Greene brothers attended MIT School of
architecture and received a partial completion certificate in
1891. They worked for a number of architectural firms in Boston
Massachusetts until they moved in 1893 to Pasadena California.
The Architectural firm of Greene and Greene was established
in Pasadena in January of 1894. Charles Greene visited the 1904
Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis Missouri where they
were influenced by Japanese architecture. The Greene Brothers
became well known architects of the Arts and Crafts Era after
Charles Green married Alice Gordon White, and they honeymooned
in Europe and her native England. Following that trip the firm
began developing the distinctive stylistic elements that came
together in their grand works of 1907-09. The Greenes developed
a following within the Arts and Crafts movement receiving commissions
to design furnishings for their houses. Charles Greene's sketches
for the 1903 Mary Darling house were published in the Academy
Architecture the same year, representing the firm's first foreign
publication of work. The Greenes are famous for the "Ultimate
Bungalows" which are finely crafted homes built around
the turn of the century. Perhaps, the most famous of the "ultimate
bungalows" is the Gamble House in Pasadena. The use of
picture rails for hanging pictures was a design theme of the
craftsman movement that the Greenes used in many of there works.
The Greenes were known for hanging pictures by thick leather
straps from the picture rails in their designs such as the Gamble
house and Barker house.

Our
picture rail and color scheme was inspired by the Greene &
Greene designs of the Gamble House. We hope to add more touches
of the Green brothers when we start on the exterior renovation.